The Emperor's Daughter
by Archon of Darkness
Summary: The Hunter destroyed everything: her home, her family, her friends. Now she must learn to survive in the world of light. Sequel to Dreams of the Dark.
1. Beginning of the End

Heres the sequel.

I'm not sayin nutin about what it's about. Though you should be able to guess.

____

* * *

_She had often been told of the old days by her father, the days before the Unrelenting War._

_Life had been peaceful, her father had ruled a land at peace._

_But then, _it_ came._

It_ was only the beginning._

_The blue poison, the two legged demons, strange temples and fortresses popping up everywhere._

_They had fought until the demons had been believed to have been destroyed._

_But then came the Beast and the Hunter._

_Then came the one of poison and the one of light._

_It was the beginning of the end of the world as she knew it._

* * *

I'm sorry about how short this chapter is, but when I made it longer, it just didn't work.

Also, from now on I will put the name of the next chapter at the end of the current one, so you'll know somewhat what to expect next chapter.

Chapter 2: As My Soul Weeps


	2. As My Soul Weeps

And now, without further adieu.

It's time for the story to begin.

One thing to remember, this part here takes place before Dreams of the Dark. This is at the end of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

* * *

Xera's heart felt like it was about to burst as she sprinted as fast as she could, claws clicking against the ground. She had to get to the portal, she just had to!

As she continued running, she began to hear clunking footsteps above her, like an armored figure running.

Her heart nearly stopped. Could that be the Hunter?

Just as Xera neared the end of the tunnel, a white figure jumped down from above. The graceful lines of the Hunter's armored carapace writhed beautifully as she turned and saw Xera.

Xera let out a small "eep" and skidded to a halt. The Hunter calmly raised her weapon and pointed it at her. Another tremor rocked the ground they stood on, but neither took any noticed.

Suddenly, three more figures dropped from above. These, however, were salvation for Xera. Two of them were royal warriors.

The third reared up and roared, "STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" at the Hunter.

The Hunter swiveled her cannon between the four, unsure which was the greater threat. Then, she turned and looked at the portal. With a loud whirring sound, the portal came to life and created a white sphere at its center.

Before anyone else could react, she jumped up with amazing speed and entered the portal.

"Xera," said the tallest of her saviors. "Head for the portal."

"But mom, what about-"

"Don't argue, just go! I'll meet you on the other side."

Xera hesitated, then reluctantly nodded. She ran up to the portal, steeled herself, and jumped in.

* * *

On the other side, the Hunter jumped nearly 50 feet in the air out of the portal.

As she landed, she turned toward the portal as one of the shadow creatures tried to escape its burning world. Its legs waved wildly as it tried to find support.

It was no use. After a moment, the legs retreated and the portal closed.

Satisfied, the Hunter turned and walked away.

If she had only stayed another moment, she would have seen what happened next.

With a reluctant cough, the portal activated again. Again, legs struggled to find purchase. This time, though, they did not give up.

They gripped the hard ground and pulled their body forward. Gradually, a red eye appeared, then waving head tentacles, then the final two legs.

As Xera tumbled away, the portal closed for the final time.

Xera's skin felt like it was on fire. The light was too bright, too hot! She stumbled blindly, looking for shadow.

After what seemed like an eternity, Xera collapsed into a spot of darkness. Now that it was safe to open her eye, she watched the portal, waiting.

Two minutes passed. Then five minutes passed.

Six minutes. Eight minutes. Ten.

Xera's horror grew with each passing second. Someone _had_ to have made it out: her brother, her friends, her mother, _someone_.

After half and hour of waiting, the terrible reality collapsed on her.

She was the last of her kind.

Xera broke down and wept bitterly.

* * *

Chapter 3: Demons


	3. Demons

Okay, as I am writing this I have no reviews as of yet. Hopefully I will get some soon. If not, I may discontinue this story.

So if you're reading this, PLEASE REVIEW.

* * *

Xera bolted upright. She had another nightmare.

She looked out the window of her makeshift house. It was still daytime out. Xera guessed it was about noon. She would have to hunt soon, her food from last time had already run out.

It had been several months since she had escaped her burning world. She had long since learned how to survive in the harsh light world.

It seemed that she was acclimizing to it. She could now spend a few hours out in the sun and still be able to see while doing it. Xera had never tested to see exactly how long she could survive though.

Xera had been forced to become a nocturnal creature, hunting for her meals every week or so. Not that it was hard, it was cooking what she caught that was hard. Making fires in the light world was far harder than it was on her world. She had even done better at that camp she had gone to two summers ago.

It felt like a hammer hit her heart. She had to stop thinking about that. Not thinking about it was the only thing that kept her sane. All that mattered right now was surviving, and that was hard enough.

But just as Xera rolled over to go back to sleep, her keen ears heard a sound just outside her shelter. Footsteps, perhaps food.

Xera carefully stood up, making sure her claws didn't click against the ground, and tiptoed toward her makeshift door.

Just as she reached it, the sanddigger hide was swept aside by her worst nightmare. It was a light demon.

Both Xera and the demon stared at each other with wide eyes. Slowly, the demon raised its weapon and pointed it at Xera.

Xera jumped toward him with a yell as he fired, hoping to throw him off.

But it was no use.

Pain lanced across her back as her sight went blank.

* * *

Chapter 3: The New Hunters


	4. The New Hunters

Sorry everybody, but due to technical issues my updates will be intermittent at best.

I have a request: if anyone reads this and has a deviantart account, I would REALLY appreciate it if you drew something from any of my fanfics (scenes, characters, etc) since I can't draw worth crap. Just please say that it is from a fanfiction by Archon of Darkness or masterofThardus (my deviantart account name).

Now then, on to the next chapter.

* * *

Three ships dropped into orbit around Aether.

Two of them were relatively normal Hunter-class gunships (though one was more than a little dark).

The third was a large, heavily modified Vulture class transport. Modifications included forward mounted heavy Vulcan cannons, computer controlled turrets, missiles, and newer engines.

These three ships belonged to bounty hunters: Samus Aran, Jonathan Samson, and the "amnesiac" Sarah.

Down on the surface, the three ships landed beside the Great Temple. Hatches opened, revealing three figures wearing remarkably similar armor. Two were obviously female, despite the thick armor they wore. The third was extremely tall and muscular. His armor was very similar to Sarah's.

In unison, all three hunters walked to an elevator at the Temple's base.

As the elevator neared the top of the Temple, Jonathan noticed how it seemed to be struggling slightly, most likely from the half ton of armor he was wearing.

"Yeesh Jon," said Samus when the elevator stopped. "You need to lose some weight."

He shrugged. "Well, I guess that's what ya get fer bein' fat- _OOF_!"

Jon clutched between his legs as he fell to his knees.

"Good God," he squeaked. "Why the hell do ya kick so hard? And I wasn't talking about _you_, I…meant…_me_!"

Samus immediately deflated. "Oh…er….sorry?"

Jonathan waved her off and got up. He walked away with awkward steps. Samus and Sarah looked at each other before following him. Sarah just barely heard him mumble, "My God, soon I'm gonna sound like Mickey mouse!"

U'mos meet the three in his usual spot. He glanced at Jon, noticing his awkward stance, then jumped to the meat of the matter.

"It is good that the Federation sent you. I assume that they want you to guard the specimen until a Xenoresearch team arrives?"

All three nodded. None of them really liked doing simple guard duty, but it was possible that a Space Pirate raiding party would try to steal…..whatever it was that U'mos had found.

Besides, it came with a good paycheck.

"Just what did you find anyway?" asked Samus.

U'mos prepared to talk, but stopped. "Perhaps it would be better if you just saw it," he said finally.

He then turned and led the trio down a passageway to a closed door. Quiet clicking footsteps sounded from inside.

"Hold on a sec. That thing inside isn't gonna try to eat our faces off or anythin' right?" asked Jon.

U'mos gave him a look. "It could try, but it wouldn't do much damage." Jonathan grunted. Samus rolled her eyes at him. Sarah (as usual) said nothing.

The Luminoth pressed a button on the door. When it opened, Samus immediately stepped back with a gasp and aimed her cannon inside.

Inside the room, staring back at her with a wide red eye, was an Ing.


	5. The Raid

Xera stared in shock at the gold clad figure in front of her.

The Hunter.

One of the dark armored beings beside her, the enormously tall one, said something to her in their alien language. The Hunter lowered her weapon, but didn't take her eyes off Xera.

The Ing allowed herself to breathe again. But why hadn't the Hunter shot her on the spot? She had mercilessly killed dozens of others seemingly without a second thought. She had even destroyed the entire world, yet now she stopped merely because of what someone said to her?

The light demon said something to her, she responded back. Xera really wished she knew what they were saying!

Then, strange sounds began blaring from the walls. Everyone present started, then looked at a square on the wall that began flashing.

The Hunter ran off, shouting something. The others followed (the demon after he closed the door again).

Little did Xera know that what Samus had yelled was, "Space Pirates!"

* * *

Jon began charging his arm cannon. A fierce grin arose under his helmet, unseen by anyone. He couldn't wait to pay back the pirates for what they had done on board the Valhalla.

The door to the Temple's main room opened, revealing the pirates already unloading from their transports.

Seeing the three hunters, one of them pointed and prepared to shout…..only to be impaled through the chest by a massive phazon spike. Instead of a shout, a strangled cry came from him as he toppled to the ground.

Nonetheless, that alerted the others to their presence. They all uttered battle cries and began firing superheated plasma at the hunters, who responded with fire of their own.

Yellow bolts of concussive energy caved in chest cavities and tore off arms. Phazon spikes impaled the Space Pirates and pinned them to the walls. Several were disintegrated by massive blasts of phazon energy from Jon's arm cannon.

Then, the firefight stopped. The pirates looked around in confusion. The hunters couldn't have just disappeared!

Unfortunately, they didn't notice the three spheres hanging from the pillars of the room.

* * *

Xera waited impatiently in her pseudo cell, listening to the sounds of battle outside. There was no doubt that they were fighting to get to her. But she wasn't sure whether to be hopeful or afraid. After all, they could be far worse than the Hunter.

Xera stopped pacing. There was a scratching sound at the door. It didn't sound like the light demon.

She was definitely sure it wasn't the demon when the door opened and a snarling creature with split lower jaws came in.

Xera backed up against the wall as the creature came closer. Then, a dark, armored hand grabbed the creature by the neck and lifted it into the air.

* * *

"Don't kill him, Jon," said Sarah. "The Xenoresearch team might want a look at him."

It took all of Jon's self-control not to crush the pirate's windpipe. "Fine," he said. He set the pirate down, where it fell to the ground, gasping. Behind it, the Ing stared at him, its expression unreadable.

"Well," said Sarah, speaking for the first time since they landed. "This is becoming worth the pay, no?"

Jon shrugged. "Yeah, sure, whatever." Then he looked at the Ing. Its eye widened slightly. If Jon didn't know better, he'd think it was scared.

A voice crackled through everyone's helmet radios.

"This is Commander Rolms of the GFS Mobius, please respond."


	6. Xenoresearch

Chapter 6: Xenoresearch

"…Roger that," Jon said into his radio, his newly installed suit translator converting the chirping metroid language into English.

Jonathan turned to Sarah and Samus. "Alright, Commander Rolms wants us to take the Ing to the ship. Do ya think he should send a shuttle?"

Samus considered for a moment. "No, we can carry it up. Or rather, you can."

"Me!?" Jon cried. "Why can't one of you do it?"

"Neither of our ships are big enough." Sarah said simply.

Jon's shoulders slumped. "Fine."

Samus rolled her eyes. "Aw stop being such a big baby. You can handle it," her face crinkled up in a smile. "Or aw you afwaid the big, bad, beastie's gonna get you," she said in a voice one would use when talking to a baby.

Jonathan growled and turned to the Ing. Samus and Sarah turned to leave (though he noticed that Sarah seemed to give him a lingering look before she left).

* * *

Xera did not like the way the big armored creature was looking at her.

It considered her for a moment before gruffly wrapping its arm around her waist and hoisting her up.

Xera yelped in surprise and tried to push her way out from under its arm (to no avail of course). After a moment she gave up and just hung there.

The armored creature looked at the lizard-like one slumped against the wall. It had tried to attack the armored one not too long after nearly being choked to death. This, of course, earned it a mighty smack that knocked it against the wall (and knocked it unconscious).

After a moment, the armored one picked the lizard up as well before walking out the door.

As she was carried through the halls, Xera observed the scenery around her. It wasn't like there was much else she could do.

This place looked a lot like the Temple of the Sky that had appeared during the Unrelenting War.

Soon, the armored being stepped onto a large circle on the floor. Xera's eye widened, she knew what this was! It was a rocket elevator! Her brother had always loved riding up and down and up and down on these.

Xera, however, was terrified of riding on them.

She closed her eye and gripped all five of her legs (as well as all of her tentacle-arms) on the armored creature.

If she had kept her eye open, she would have seen Jonathan look down at her in surprise.

Xera felt the elevator ease itself downward. She relaxed slightly, then yelped and renewed her hold as the elevator rocket downward with a sudden burst of speed.

After what seemed like an eternity, the rocket powered elevator reached the ground with a jarring impact.

Xera waited several seconds before venturing a peek. She let out her pent up breath and relaxed her death grip on the armored creature, who then began walking forward to the largest of three flying machines in front of the pseudo Sky Temple.

Xera felt her grip tightening again. She hated flying even more than rocket elevators! She remembered her father trying to coax her to try out a hang glider during their vacation 2 years ago. Xera had absolutely refused.

The creature carrying her noticed her nervousness and began making a strange noise. It took Xera a moment to realize that the alien sound was chuckling. She felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.

The creature reached a platform beneath the machine and stood on it. After a moment, the platform lifted up into the ship.

Xera looked around in awe. The interior was incredibly sleek, yet rugged looking. Devices of all types lined the walls, ceiling, and floors. Xera could only guess at their function.

The creature set her and the lizard down on a circle on the floor. Immediately, a sheen of translucent light surrounded her and the lizard-creature. Xera's heart sank, she knew she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

* * *

Jon looked back at the Ing. It apparently knew that there was no way to get past the ray shields, it had settled back on its haunches next to the Space Pirate.

"Jon, you ready for takeoff?" said Samus' voice, startling Jon.

"Huh, what? Yeah I'm ready."

"Well then takeoff! I'm not waiting for you all day." Jon looked out his viewscreen. Both Sarah's and Samus' ships were hovering in front of his own.

"Right, sorry, just got a little distracted. Taking off now."

A few minutes later, the three ships exited Aether's atmosphere. There before them was the GFS Mobius.

The Mobius was very similar in design to battleships like the GFS Olympus, though it lacked most of the weapons of a war-focused ship. The Mobius was dedicated to research, not war.

Sarah and Samus moved their ships to the research ship's docking bay converted from a fighter bay. Jonathan moved in after them. His ship was clamped in place by servicing arms from the walls as Samus and Sarah landed.

* * *

Commander Rolms, members of the Xenoresearch team, and the Hunters all looked at Jon as he exited his ship carrying the Ing and Space Pirate. The Pirate grunted softly and began to stir.

The commander and research team immediately tensed. Samus, Sarah, and Jonathan didn't bat an eye.

"Hey Sarah, can ya give him another whack on the head? My hands are kinda full."

The former Dark Hunter shrugged and walked up to the Pirate, raising her fist as she did so.

"Wait, hold on just one second," interjected Commander Rolms. "We need him conscious for the interrogation."

Both dark armored hunters looked at the commander.

"Interrogation, eh?" said Jon dangerously. "Say, you don't suppose you could call me if he doesn't cooperate?"

Commander Rolms gulped hard. For once he was glad that his helmet kept his face from being seen, because hearing that tone of voice from a 7 foot giant wearing half a ton of armor scared the hell out of him.

"Er, yeah, sure," he responded uneasily.

* * *

Xera looked uneasily at the one carrying her. She did not like the tone of voice it had just had, though she didn't know what it had said.

The creature proceeded to walk her over to the other beings. They also wore armor, though it was nothing close to what the Hunter wore.

One of them walked up to her with some sort of rod in its hands. Before Xera could react, it pressed the rod against her neck and pressed a button on it.

Almost immediately, Xera began to feel tired. The rod must have some sort of sleep agent in it! She tried valiantly to stay awake, but it was no use. She fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this one took so long. The next chapter will probably be from the Space Pirate's POV.


	7. Caveman and Tuna

A/N: Eh, good enough as far as reviews go.

Though I think a few people misunderstood what I said. I don't expect a hundred-million reviews for each chapter. I just want _SOMETHING_ one each; some feedback on what I need to improve or what I need to keep the same. If that's done, then the chapters update faster. Ok? Ok.

On with the story.

* * *

Xera blinked as she came back to her senses. She remembered being knocked out by one of those other creatures.

She wondered what they were. They seemed similar to light demons, but they were more muscular and not as tall.

There were a bunch of them standing around now. Only these didn't wear amor, they only wore some thin, blue garment. But there was something else…

With a shock, Xera realized that she could see their faces!

Their faces were unlike anything Xera had ever seen. They were unlike light demons as well.

Their faces were almost completely flat, save for a small nose at the center of their face. Twin eyes of variable color sat just below a rather large forehead. Their mouth was large and curved whenever they spoke.

After looking at the creatures, Xera made the unfortunate decision to look down at herself.

She was covered from head to toe in wires and suspended in a tank of some kind. A mask attached to her mouth gave her a steady supply of air. She felt lucky that these things hadn't decided to dissect her.

That lucky feeling did not, however, affect the panic she was feeling right now.

Xera briefly tried scratching at the glass with her sharp claws and pushed against it with her tentacles, but the blue suited creatures outside did nothing to stop her. That alone told her that the effort was useless.

Xera resigned herself to looking at the creatures fearfully, her own imagination giving her images of gruesome dissections and cruel experiments…

* * *

Jonathan looked on boredly as the scientists recorded the various readings from their machines as they scanned the Ing.

Yep, this was definitely the one and only time he would take a security job. The only two things that kept him here was the fact that the job paid well, and that he had nothing better to do. The contract only bound Samus to the job, anyone accompanying her could break off with no pay at any time.

An armored finger tapped his shoulder. Jonathan glanced behind him to see a Federation Marine standing behind him.

"Sam, is that you?" the trooper asked incredulously.

Jon turned back with a huff. "That's my last name, not my first. Ya need to get it right."

The marine folded his arms. "Don't tell me you don't remember your ol' pal Stanley!" He said with a hint of amusement. His face didn't show from behind his visor, but it was obvious that he was smiling.

Jon did a double take.

"…Caveman?" he asked softly.

The two men looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing and slapped each other on the back.

"Sam the big ass man!" the marine exclaimed, shaking his head. "Who would'a thunk you'd be here?"

"Good ta see you to, Caveman," Jon said, laughing. Then something struck him. "Is the whole gang here?"

"Caveman" shrugged. "Why don't you ask 'em?" he said.

Immediately, the doors at the end of the observation platform opened and a group of marines walked in yelling.

"Hey hey hey, it's the big ass man!" "Sam the man! Where've ya been!" "All right! It's the big ass man!"

The group descended on Jon with a flurry of hi-fives, back slaps, and "Man, where've you been!"s. Sarah and Samus, who had been standing there watching, looked at each other in confusion.

After a moment, Jon separated from the group slightly.

"Hey guys," he said to the group. "Lemme introduce you to my partners. This is Samus Aran and Sarah."

Several of the group whistled.

"Whewee man," said a shorter one, a slight Mexican accent clung to his words. "You should'a told us you were workin' with the Hunter sooner, man!"

Jon turned back to Sarah and Samus. "These are my old academy buddies. There's Caveman," he pointed to the original marine, "Armpit," a heavy, muscular man, "Zero," the short one, "X-Ray," a tall, lanky man, "and Magnet," the most muscular of the group, though he wasn't heavy like Armpit.

Sarah nodded to them, Samus shook their hands. It was obvious that they were in awe of her, though their general demeanor was unchanged.

Samus cringed slightly when she shook Armpit's hand. She did _not_ want to know why he was called that.

* * *

Later

"Sam the big ass man" and his comrades walked down the hallways of the GFS Mobius while joking, laughing, and reminiscing about their old academy days and their early days of deployment against the Space Pirates. Samus and Sarah, feeling like third wheels around them, had left a while ago.

As the laughter faded from the last funny story, something occurred to one of them.

"Hey Sam," Zero said to Jon. "Why're you still wearin' that armor? We're not on duty right now."

Zero and the rest of the group had all taken off their helmets. Jon was the only one still wearing his.

He sighed. "You wouldn't want to see me right now," he said heavily.

"Why?" joked Armpit. "You got helmet hair or something?" There was a short chuckle from everyone but Jon. He just sighed again.

Deciding that this must be bothering him for some reason, Caveman switched subjects.

"So, where'd you get assigned when you left the GFS Stargazer? You were trainin' to be a PED trooper, I heard."

Jon winced. He could still remember the battle.

_Space Pirates coming from every direction…metroids everywhere, feeding on marines and Pirates alike…the retreat to the escape pods…the first PED trooper becoming a small sun as his tank overloaded and flung him against a wall…the second trooper fell only two decks away from the pods…just as warnings flashed on Jon's HUD, a metroid attached to his arm, siphoning the life from his body…unbelievable pain as the PED tank exploded…the metroid melting into his arm, fusing to him…_

Jonathan shuddered. Yet, he might as well tell them.

"Uh, Sam?"

Jonathan said a single word, "Valhalla."

Everyone was instantly silent.

Magnet gulped. "Does that have something to do with why your suit looks like…" he trailed off.

"Yes," he said as he reached up and slowly began unlatching his helmet. He began explaining what had happened as he did. He had done the same when he had talked to Dar-…er…Sarah, and when he had registered as a bounty hunter.

Everyone, even X-Ray and Armpit, began to pale as he described what had happened on board Valhalla during the fight. Then he took off his helmet.

Everyone just stared at him.

"Y-you're a-a…" Caveman stuttered.

"Not completely," Jon interrupted after he put his helmet back on. "I'm still mostly human. But I'm also infused with phazon and metroid DNA. I can't eat regular food anymore, I can only absorb energy. Luckily I can just absorb the phazon energy that my suit constantly produces."

"Wait a minute," Magnet said, his engineer brain starting to work. "You say your suit produces phazon, and if I'm not mistaken, Sarah's does the same. But wouldn't that mean that-?"

"That's right," Jonathan said. For the benefit of those present who didn't know what they meant, he added, "Sarah and I are the only remaining sources of phazon left."

* * *

A growling noise nearly caused Xera to jump out of her skin. Then she realized that it was only her stomach. She hadn't been given any food since she had arrived at this place.

The pale creatures had (thankfully) taken her out of the tank and put her in an enclosed room. The creatures, as well as the hunter and the dark creature that accompanied her, sat in a room separated from Xera's by a glass wall.

Xera's stomach growled again, this time much louder.

She settled down on her haunches, resolving not to move an inch until she was given food.

* * *

A soft growl emanated through the speakers. Samus jumped at the sound and looked into the room where the Ing was.

The Ing was merely sitting on the floor. Samus looked to one of the scientists.

"What was that?" she asked.

The man shrugged. "Could be the thing's stomach."

"Well then feed it. We don't want it to die on us."

The scientist looked at her. "And what do you suggest we give it?"

Before Samus could answer, Sarah did. "I have an idea." She walked into the back room, where there was a small snack kitchen. The sounds of a can opener could be heard from inside.

When she walked back out, she was holding a small can. All of the scientists turned when the smell of the can's contents.

Samus made a gagging noise. "Is that…tuna?" she asked with a disgusted look on her face. Sarah nodded.

"Wait a minute," one of the scientists said. "We don't know if the Ing can eat fish…at least not fish that isn't from Dark Aether anyway."

Sarah shrugged. "We have to give it something, so why not this?"

He thought for a moment, then finally relented.

Samus wrinkled her nose. She hated tuna. Even the smell was enough to turn her stomach.

Sarah walked in through the door on the other side of the glass wall. The Ing looked up at her and stood up. Its eye tracked the can that Sarah held.

Aran could swear the thing looked almost…intelligent.

Sarah put the can in front of the Ing and backed off. Once she left the room, the dark creature looked down at the can.

* * *

Xera looked down at the can that she had just been given. Whatever its contents were, it smelled good.

She shrugged inwardly, it was better than nothing.

She began eating.

* * *

Samus put her hand to her mouth and ran from the room, hurriedly trying to find the closest bathroom.

Sarah and the scientists briefly looked after her, then at each other.

"I guess there are people who don't like tuna," Sarah said.

* * *

Jonathan tried valiantly to sleep, but that was more than a little hard with his legs up to his knees draped off the edge of his bunk. Loud snoring surrounded him.

He would have slept in his ship, but he had never gotten around to putting a bed in it.

Jon thought it amazing that his academy buddies had stuck around after what he had showed them. Instead of ostracizing him, they acted as though he was the same ol' Sam. They hadn't changed a bit.

Someone farted with nearly enough force to raise the roof.

"Ok, who just ripped ass!?" "Oh, Good God!" "Goddamnit, Armpit!"

Jon grimaced. Armpit in particular had _definitely_ not changed at all.

Chapter 8: Dark Storms


	8. Author's note

A/N: All right, a message to all of my readers.

As you may have noticed, my updates are a bit sporadic and often aren't very long when I do update. Well, here's the reason; because my old PC died on me, I have to type up my chapters at school during study halls, lunch, and before/after school. Because school is drawing to a close, my updates will stall until I am able to get another computer. Hopefully that will be soon, but you never know.

I will try to finish at least one more chapter before the school year ends, but I can't promise anything.

In the meantime, I can still review and answer questions from my Wii. I welcome any questions about the fanfic.

Don't take me off your watch list, I'll update again as soon as possible!


	9. Dark Storms

**Chapter 8: Dark Storms**

_Hatred._

_A familiar word…a word that she knew well._

_A figure stood within the poisoned air of the dark world. Her armor contrasted greatly with the color of the environs. It was a blazing red. Red as blood._

_Red as hatred._

_Dark ones clustered around her. But not out of loyalty. They made to move, but her mind kept them there._

_Another figure walked up, and the dark ones shrank back. They knew this one, they knew her well._

_The Beast._

_The one in red nodded slowly to her. With a malicious chuckle that spoke of insanity, the Beast raised her arms._

_Blue lightning flashed._

_The change began._

_Bodies lengthened. Talons became fingers. Eyes became visors. Skin became armor._

_Before long, an army stood before the Hated one. A smile crept beneath her helmet._

_A laugh ripped its way to the sky._

**Chapter 9: Discovery**

* * *

A/N: IT'S…ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

Ok, the reason why I only have this little bit here as a chapter is because I consider this a bridge. Part of the reason I haven't updated in a while is because I've really been working on my writing. One thing you can expect from me from here out is longer chapters as well. My writing has improved quite a bit as well.

And to those that I told that the story was dead…It was for a while, but lo and behold I have my inspiration back! :D

Once again: longer chapters, better writing, and yes this chapter may not make sense now, but it factors in later. ;) And thanks for the advice DrkVrtx (ok, I'm pretty sure I put the name down wrong, but you know who I mean ^_^')


	10. Discovery

Chapter 8: Discovery

"Jonathan!"

Hearing his name, the hulk of dark blue armor walking down the corridors of the GFS Mobius halted. The metal plates beneath him groaned slightly in protest as he turned. A man in military uniform was walking briskly toward him. It seemed that Commander Rolms was off duty, officially if not in actuality.

"Yes, Commander?" Jon rumbled.

The man swallowed. "Do you remember when you offered to help us with the interrogation?"

A savage grin appeared beneath the bounty hunter's helmet. "I do," he said simply.

Commander Rolms swallowed again. "A-are you prepared to keep that promise?"

* * *

There was an audible clatter as the nearby chairs rattled from Jon's footsteps. The slightly lighter clunk of armor could be heard behind him as three figures stepped into the "Ready Room," which stood in between the observation and interrogation rooms. It provided a space for personnel to talk without being overheard by the prisoner, while still being nearby in case of a disturbance.

There was a grunt as Commander Rolms squeezed in between Samus and Jonathan.

"So," Jon began. "What've you tried so far?"

Rolms held up his hands in resignation. "Everything, but she just won't crack. Granted, that isn't uncommon when trying to get a Pirate to talk. But damn, it is frustrating!"

"Wait a minute," Samus said. "…It's a she?" Sarah also looked to the Commander, her head cocked slightly.

He nodded. "There's no doubt, but it isn't odd for them. Did you think that the women weren't in the military?"

The round shoulder armor on Samus' suit rose as she shrugged. "I didn't make it my business what gender did what and where, I just killed 'em," she said mildly.

Rolms pursed his lips. Though he was in the military and had seen combat, his role was scientific for the most part, and Samus was well known for her attitude toward most scientists.

As they began to walk toward the door, Jon held out his hand, keeping the others back, who looked at him quizzically.

"You really need the info from this gal, right?"

The commander looked at him oddly. "Of course! For all we know, the encryption for our transmissions could have been compromised. I don't see how else the Space Pirates could have learned about the Ing."

With the press of a button, Jon's arm cannon folded back.

"Then let me handle it," he said in a deeper than usual voice. Without waiting for permission, he began to format his newly updated translator for a dialect of the Space Pirate language. Then he paused.

"A bit of a warning," he said to the non-plussed commander and the two hunters. "I'm probably about to break every code, law, and ordinance about interrogation." Without another word, he opened the door.

S-1382 looked up slightly as an armored figure entered. A hint of a smil

* * *

e showed, undetectable to a homind. No doubt this was another attempt at interrogation. How pathetic.

She waited patiently as the armored hulk walked up to the metal table where she sat. The cuffs on her hands attached to a hook in the middle. He stood there, not taking a seat.

Before the poor Pirate had a chance to wonder why, he raised his fist…and broke the table in half.

There was a deafening clang as the two halves flew apart with enough force to destroy the battery for S-1382's cuffs. They shut off with a hiss. Still in shock, she simply sat there, though it was invisible on her face.

The dark being raised his hand again. Suddenly, the Pirate soldier felt herself lifted into the air. Pain exploded behind her eyes as she slammed into a wall.

When her vision cleared somewhat, she could see the five streamers holding her against the wall. She also noticed that there was a crushing pressure against her neck. This time she purposely smiled in a homind manner. So now they were starting to get serious.

Abruptly, her smile froze. She never had the chance to take a good look at the being before, the attack and capture had been too fast. But now that she could, he almost looked like…

The Pirate's eyes widened. Her left arm twitched out of instinct, but it was no use. The gun on her hand could not be removed, so the hominds had simply taken out the major components. It was useless now.

"Now then," he said in a deep voice, the translation coming from a plate on his chest. "I believe you have some information to give."

The Pirate grabbed at his arm to support herself, it was getting hard to breathe, but she said nothing. The hulk waited a moment, then flung her toward the other wall, the grapple beams coming from each finger twisted and turned before becoming rigid again. Then he moved closer putting his face in her's.

"I don't think I heard you," he said in a quiet, deadly voice. Immediately, pain exploded through S-1382's stomach. She looked down to see the Dark Hunter's cannon there, an orb of blue phazon energy pulsing before it. The familiar blue veins of corruption could be seen on her skin.

The pain was unbearable.

A hiss of pain escaped from her mandibles. An armored hand clenched her throat as the pressure against her arms, cutting off the sound. Now she began to panic, she was fearless in the face of death…but the Dark Hunter was not known to let its victims escape so easily.

"I'm still waiting," the Hunter said coolly.

The Pirate considered, no simple task, considering her position, but eventually rasped, "Given…"

The hulk cocked its head slightly and eased off a bit.

"It was…given…to us…" she rasped between gasps of air. "From an unknown source. It was a distress signal sent from empty space in this area, detailing a creature that could be of use to Us."

The hunter's head cocked more. S-1382 gave a slight smile, though she stood unsteadily. "You're wondering why I volunteered the information so easily." The Hunter said nothing. "Whoever sent the message was not one of Us, their information was useful, but they are nothing."

The Hunter looked wordlessly toward one of the walls, its surface was black and smooth like the others. The Pirate cursed the fact that her eyepieces had been taken. Without them, she could not see the full spectrum that hominds could see. More than likely, that was where they were observing her.

Without another word, the Hunter turned toward the door.

* * *

The Commander just looked at Jon as he entered the observation room. In the interrogation room, the Space Pirate picked up the chair that had been thrown across the room, and sat back down where she had been at the beginning of the ordeal. An air of calm came from her, but Sarah's keen eyes could see the shivering. That was most likely due to the phazon veins on her stomach, but she ignored them.

"Start decontamination," Rolms ordered. A scientist pressed a button on his console. There was a loud hissing as mist filled the interrogation chamber. It was something left over from Phaaze, a compound that was found to reduce phazon contamination and completely cure early corruption. But Phaaze was destroyed before it ever had to be used; no newly commissioned ships carried the substance.

As Jonathan passed, his wide shoulders brushed Sarah's armor, sending chills down her spine. That was still something she didn't understand, she meant to ask Samus about it…but it seemed…embarrassing.

Jon walked over to the edge of the screen, looking at the Pirate.

"She lied," he said simply.

But one of the technicians shook his head. "She told the truth, all right, or at least what she knows of it. Space Pirates are a lot clearer on lie detectors than other races."

Jon looked at the man, then back. "You don't receive a signal from empty space, and even a Kriken scout would be detected if it came this close to us."

Sarah had an inkling, or maybe a hunch, of what it might be. But she couldn't say it now for a host of reasons, not the least of which is that the hunch came from one of her memories as Dark Samus.

_…Her disintegrated body hurtled through the Dark World as it shook to its very foundations. The skies turned white, then faded back to purple. In the distance, she could see the white sphere. As the dark particles that were her entered, the shaking began to slow, the sky warped, it flashed bright white…and that was all she saw._

As she thought about this, Samus stepped forward, about to say something, but was interrupted by a crackle at the small plate on the wall.

"Commander Rolms?" a voice said.

The man walked over to it. "What is it?" He asked impatiently.

"Sorry sir, but you'll probably want to see this."

The hunters each gave each other a significant glance, then followed Rolms as he hurried out the door.

* * *

_Storm clouds arced overhead, pitch black against the brightening sky as it faded from black, to white, to purple. A figure in red, spiked armor surveyed the foreboding valley, her face veiled beneath a familiar y-shaped visor._

_Another walked up, black ice protruded from him obscenely._

_"Preparations have been finished," he rasped._

_The red one did not turn. "And Mobius?"_

_He snorted. "They are only running cursory scans, we are just now entering their sensor field."_

_"Good," she said simply. The other stood for a moment, waiting to see if she had anything else to say._

_She said nothing._

_"Well then," he said in an irritated voice. "If you'll excuse me, I have things to do."_

_The red one made a light coughing sound as he turned. He gave a short glare before continuing on._

_She looked back out over the valley as he left. The sky brightened as it shifted toward the light, revealing a war machine readying itself for war. Soldiers marched, vehicles surged, gunships swooped low toward their destinations._

_A smile could be perceived from the red being._

_The War would soon begin._

_N/A: Yeah...this still isn't the best writing, but I've already started the story, and I'm gonna finish it. Hopefully it's better as well. Don't expect the nect chapter to be as short as this one either. I'm gonna keep ramping up the length._

Hopefully not too many of my readers have abandoned me at this point. -_-'

I will continue, but I would really like reviews. :)


	11. Sentience

Chapter 9: Sentience

Commander Rolms frowned as he looked at the screen. The hunters looked at it over his shoulder, interested.

"What am I looking at?" he asked, not removing his eyes from the display. A black circle stood at the center of a grid, an extremely small dent could be seen underneath it on the flat intersection of lines.

The officer at the console scratched his head. "Well, sir," he said. "It's a planet."

If he was expecting a reaction to this, he was disappointed. Everyone just looked at him blankly.

"I don't see the significance of that," Sarah said, breaking her silence. "We are in orbit around one, after all."

"Ah," the man said, seeming to have a eureka moment. "That's just it. This isn't Aether." He touched a few buttons, and the orb shrunk as the zoom level was decreased. Soon, another orb came into view. It was the same size, but the dent underneath it was far larger.

"_That_ is Aether," he said, folding his arms. "This other…I can't even call it a planet…whatever it is, is the same size and everything, but has a stellar mass of less than a fiftieth of Aether. We can't even see it."

"That isn't possible," the Commander chimed in. "Nothing that big can be that light, not to mention invisible."

"That's where it gets complicated," the officer typed in more commands. A steadily climbing meter appeared next to the planet. "When we detected the anomaly earlier, we retook the measurements for stellar mass to make sure we hadn't fouled up. The retake showed that it had marginally more mass than a few seconds earlier. Another scan revealed the same." He gave the Commander a critical look.

Everyone noticed the number next to the meter rose even as they watched it.

"How long until it reaches Aether's mass?" Jon asked from behind everyone else, since he could easily see over them.

The man checked the meter. "I'd say…less than twenty four hours, sir."

The trio of hunters looked at each other, and then at Commander Rolms, who frowned. "Alert the Olympus," he said simply.

* * *

And, of course, another call had come from the lab not a minute later, also claiming something urgent about the Ing. The group rushed down, fearing there was a problem with containment; perhaps the creature had decided not to be so docile anymore.

The round door to the outer area of the lab slid open, the passive shield around it dissipating. On the other side, the Ing stood inside a glass chamber, looking around with an unreadable expression.

"What is it?" Commander Rolms asked.

The lead scientist came forward after giving Jonathan a nervous glance.

"Sir, we…well…we were performing some tests on the Ing, sir. We just started the brainwave probe, to see if we could make out any patterns in the brainwaves…" the man trailed off.

Rolms waved his hand impatiently. "Yes yes, and?"

He opened his mouth again, but closed it. "Maybe you should just see it, sir."

He walked over to the console nearby and typed in a few keys. The screen lit up with a video from the top of the room, apparently from the security camera. The Ing wandered around the chamber for a few seconds, then came close to the glass wall, where the scientists were just out of camera range.

"What are you doing?" a young, feminine voice said from the computer's speakers. Everyone, including the other scientists, jumped at the sound. Jonathan leaned in over everyone's shoulders, his eyes narrowing underneath his helmet.

"Did that thing just say that?" He whispered.

"It makes sense," Sarah said. Everyone looked at her.

"How?"

"Think about it," she admonished, stepping forward. "How would you describe the Ing when you faced them, Samus?" She, of course, knew from when she herself had been there, but there were all sorts of problems with her saying that. Though she didn't give the hunter time to answer. "They were vicious, beastial, never docile like this when a light creature was around. But think about it, they were completely alien, without even the slightest humanoid shape like the Space Pirates, the Chozo, or the Luminoth. What if they were simply fighting with the ferocity that all races have when they're at war?"

Indeed, that was something that all of them had known was possible, but there was something wrong…

"That can't be it," Samus said in confusion. "The Ing attacked the Luminoth the moment they saw each other. Why would they just attack like that if they were a sentient species?"

There was the kicker. Sarah thought for a moment. Just why did the Ing attack?

"Misunderstanding," she said, raising her head. "That may be it. Hundreds of wars have been started from it. We've all seen what the Ing look like. The Luminoth must have panicked and attacked them."

Everyone thought on this. While the moth-aliens might disagree, it certainly sounded plausible. The Luminoth believed firmly that every decision they made was the right one, almost never admitting to mistakes unless blatantly obvious.

"How does the brain probe work?" Samus asked after a moment, everyone looked at her in confusion. What did that have to do with this?

"Well," the scientist started, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, just at the edge of where the blue skin suit he wore began on his face. "It isn't actually a probe, not the way you would think, anyway. It's actually just a very sensitive antenna that attaches to the head area." He pulled up the video of the Ing "speaking," freezing it. A thick wire could be seen standing up just above its eye.

"The antenna picks up the more complex brain waves," the man continued. "and translates them as sound." He rubbed the back of his head. "Of course, when connected to sentient creatures, the most complex waves translate as a sort of "mind speech." It doesn't reveal everything that you think, but it tells some."

Samus leaned closer to the screen with a metallic crinkle of armor, her face was unseen behind the glare of light reflecting on her visor.

"Can the probe work both ways?"

Everyone but Sarah did a double take.

"What do you mean?" Rolms, Jonathan, and the scientist all asked in unison. Sarah could only smile underneath her bright blue visor. A simple idea following a simple explanation.

Why had no one else thought of it?

* * *

From within the glass prison, Xera waited.

The fear she had first felt when she had been abducted was still there, but muted. She'd been here for a while, but with those harsh lights overhead that never dimmed, she didn't know how long. However much time had passed, no harm had come to her. But she had to know, some way or another, just what did they want with her? They had done various prodding and poking with those strange devices, but why?

The same question repeated over and over inside her head. But she was jolted from it when the heavy, metal door at one end of the room slid open. A golden figure entered the sterile, white room. Xera almost dove backward over her head tentacles.

The Hunter walked into the room.

The Hunter's alien face was obscured underneath impenetrable, yellow armor. Her weaponized arm, which Xera knew all too well, hummed at its side, pulsing with a massive, unseen power.

But something gave the young Ing pause. The rest of these creatures had not harmed her, and they certainly looked more like the Hunter then the light Demons…but that didn't make sense. The Hunter was a savage! It killed anything that it came across, innocent or warrior! But then…why wasn't it trying to kill her right now.

In fact, it was doing just the opposite.

Its hand was held up with the open center facing Xera, facing the place from which the energy whip came away. The weapon remained at its side. Xera thought she could just barely make out the form of its eyes behind that helmet. Not enough to see color, but enough to see that they were there.

_I won't hurt you_, a female voice said. Xera started and looked around, but the source was nowhere to be found. Then she looked up to the device on her head. Was that it?

_I'm not the antenna_, the voice said, amused. Slowly, the Ing's blood red eye turned to the Hunter.

_You?_ she thought.

_Yes_, the voice said, accompanied by the Hunter nodding its…her head.

Xera just stared…but no, there would be a better time to ask how. No was the time to ask-

_Why?_

_I wanted to talk_, the Hunter said simply. She knelt, taking herself down to Xera's level. _What is your name?_

Xera blinked, flustered for a moment. _Uh…well…uh…_

The Hunter blinked. _You have a name, don't you?_

_Y-yes, b-b-but_…the Hunter sighed, the strange sound coming through the mind and as a sound.

_I know what you're thinking_. Xera's eyes widened. _No no, not because of the probe_, the Hunter corrected quickly, waving her un-weaponized hand. _I mean…well…I know what you think I am. But I can assure you, I'm not a murderer._

_Then what are you?_ Xera asked challengingly, the grief she felt at the destruction of her world resurfacing unbidden. It was the very feeling that was too overwhelming for her to completely feel, it had remained buried for so long. She was the very last of her kind.

_The war…was a misunderstanding_, she said sadly. _It never should have gone to what it was._

The Ing took an angry step forward. _A misunderstanding? My world is gone, GONE! How is that just a misunderstanding? Everyone I know is dead! My father_…she trailed off, the mind speech began being more like muttering to oneself. _He…he must not have made it to the Sky Temple in time to stop you._

The Hunter froze.

_Your…father?_ she said slowly.

The Ing just looked at her. Something was off here.

_Y…you're royalty?_

That word, once something that had her in high esteem above everyone else meant nothing now. _Yes_, she said simply.

The golden figure stood and slowly, rigidly walked back toward the door. But Xera paid no attention, even as the sliding entrance closed again with a hiss…

* * *

"Well?" Commander Rolms asked as Samus left the room. The Ing was lying down inside, its eye half lidded as though it was sleeping.

The hunter merely took off her helmet, a nonplussed look on her face.

"Uh, Samus?" Jon asked nervously.

She looked up at him solemnly.

"That girl in there…" she bit her lip. "I just realized that I…I killed her father."

* * *

_A/N: Sorry about the extra long wait everybody, school and brain-farts joined forces for these last few weeks. 'Haven't been able to write much._

_Thickens, the plot does. ;) And don't worry, Stan the man and the Holes crew'll be back in a few chapters. I have a more rigid plan for the rest of the story laid out now, so it should go a lot smoother than my pathetic excuses for chapters earlier._


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